Is The Home Theater Receiver Dead?

In the battle of simplicity vs complexity, who wins? The home theater receiver or the soundbar?

A couple of years ago I visited the Sonos headquarters in Santa Barbara, CA, for a sneak peek at the company’s new PlayBar, a networked soundbar speaker that can be part of a wireless whole-house audio system. It’s very cool product, and you can read more about it here and in my PLAYBAR review. While I was there, it struck me how much content, control and processing talent was built into this soundbar speaker and how absent was the old standby, the home theater receiver.

Equally interesting was the observation that nowhere in the Sonos home theater room were there any speaker wire terminals. However, Ethernet jacks were on every wall.

But back to the receiver issue. The SONOS PlayBar, and other similar products from companies like Samsung and Polk, can do a lot: provide music from many different streaming services; playback files from a smartphone or computer; connect to a TV to deliver audio from TV programs, video games and Blu-ray discs; act as part and processor of a 5.1 surround sound system and probably do something else important I’ve forgotten. All of this is accomplished without a traditional AV receiver.

I asked Sonos product manager Tom Cullen what he thought about the future of the home theater receiver, and he replied very bluntly, “the receiver business is history.” Cullen went on to explain his point, saying that the AV receiver is too complicated, uses too much power, is poorly designed and costs too much money (remember, the Sonos PlayBar costs $700). Why does he say this? Because the PlayBar “plays everything, is easy to control,” and sounds great (paraphrased). The guiding principle of the digital age, he says, is simplicity managing abundance.

That last thought—managing abundance, is important. While inputs have been steadily growing on AV receivers over the last several years, an even greater emphasis has grown in the area of built-in services and wireless connections. A home theater receiver is still the place you plug everything in, but it’s also becoming the place with everything already built-in: internet radio, streaming movie services, Wi-Fi connections, AirPlay and more. Managing that abundance of content is the receiver’s biggest challenge, and often a receiver’s biggest failure.

In many case, that’s where a home control system comes in. Where products fall short, custom programming can pick up the slack. Figuring out how to switch inputs, modes and devices with a top-level receiver can be daunting until a professional integrator programs all the commands into a simple-to-use interface, such as a touchpad, remote or a smart phone app.

Makers of products like SONOS might point out that much of that integration is already built into their products, eliminating the need for a control system and a receiver. For many rooms and many consumers, they’d be right. The SONOS PlayBar brings easy music management, minimal installation and setup time and simple control into one living room product.

In fact, soundbars in general, especially the ones that include their own amplification and source inputs, can replace the audio and switching responsibilities of a receiver for many people. That trend doesn’t mean that receivers are dead. Instead it means that better (or maybe just easier) audio solutions are now available for more rooms.

Another technology that could put a dent in AV receivers is WiSA–a wireless technology that Klipsch demonstrated in a 7.1 home theater system at the 2015 CES. In that setup, a small wireless transmitter box (about the size of a router) accepts all the home theater source inputs, and sends audio signals to the speakers wirelessly. I heard it in person, and the system is awesome.

I would argue that many of the simpler systems now on the market are not replacing receivers. They’re augmenting them. If they’re replacing anything, it’s the basic home-theater-in-a-box systems that are losing out.

TVs that otherwise would sit alone, supported only by the fly-paper speakers wedged in between their glass panels and printed circuit boards, now can be part of a better overall entertainment experience.

For the best performance, however, a dedicated receiver with its built-in talents still remains the best way to achieve true home theater. A dedicated receiver offers more power, more inputs and overall more options and flexibility.

For the record, I use both options in my home. My dedicated home theater includes a traditional AV receiver and a professional home automation system (Control4). My living room TV gets its sound from a sound base speaker, and my bedroom TV goes without external speakers (we only use it to watch the news).

I concur. Sonos doesn’t understand a basic truth. If you oversell a product or service it leaves the customer wondering if other statement are valid as well. Quality home theater comes at a price. It like folks who said the iPad will kill the laptop. I own both and find both useful. If I am watching the television for a tv show or the news a sound bar might be nice. But watching a movie in a home theater and having a full featured AVR with high quality speakers and 10ft screen with high quality projection will never be replaced by a soundbar, never! Now projection being replaced by new large 4k tv’s is another discussion.

While Sonos has done a remarkable job, their sound bar won’t fit under most of today’s larger TVs. In addition, it cannot do surround sound! A good Yamaha can put a bird on your shoulder while a wolf howls a half-mile behind you. Everyone seems to be taking shots at the Sonos architecture. Sooner or later, someone will eat into their market share. Apple is not the only smartphone.